The Pertapis Children’s Home — a safehouse for children in need — has tragically turned into a house of horror after it was revealed the very people who were supposed to take care of the kids displayed inhumane and exceedingly abusive behaviour over a period of two years.
Nine children — from ages four to 11 — suffered at the hands of two employees. The New Paper reports that 26-year-old Muhammad Abdul Gani and 29-year-old Filipino national Joanne Joy Coloma Dadiz were charged yesterday with abusing the children at the Pertapis Children’s Home in Kovan between 2012 and January last year.
Abdul — ironically serving as the home’s welfare officer and religious teacher — had allegedly abused eight of the children by grabbing their heads, shoving his hand into their mouths and whipping them with a wooden cane. He faces charges including kicking away a chair a nine-year-old girl was standing on and leaving a four-year-old inside a cupboard, causing him emotional injury.
Coloma has been accused of sitting on the back of an 11-year-old girl for thee minutes as the child lay face down on the floor.
Bail of $20,000 was set for Muhammad and a bail of $10,000 was granted to Coloma. Both will appear in court again on May 18 for a pre-trial conference. If convicted, they could be fined up to $4,000 and/or jailed for four years for each charge.
Shockingly, both remain employees under Pertapis but not at the home. They have been ordered not to approach the victims or their families directly or indirectly.
Photo: Google Maps screengrab
